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THE CHEVIOT SHEEP. 




By C. S. PLUMB, 
Director of Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station. 



[A Lecture delivered Tjefore the National Cheviot Sheep Society, January 4th. 1899.] 



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GROUP vi. * L^kLK'x^^ wlUA iv., i k^i^i:^. 
On Plenderleith Farm, near Jedburgh, Scotland. 



Froir, Photograph Loaned by 

Clay, Robbinson & Co. 




THE CHEVIOT SHEEP. 

BY C. S. PLUMB. 

About 300 miles north of London, forming the dividing Hne 
between England and Scotland, lies a group of mountains and hills. 
These are not rough, ragged, stone-capped mountains, such as are 
familiar to the New Englander, but rather smooth faced instead, 
covered with grass and vegetation to their summits. These are the 
Cheviot Hills. Among them a few rise to some height, of which 
the Cheviot at 2676 feet and Carter Fell rising 18 15 feet, are the 
most prominent points. These hills mainly prevail in the north 
part of Northumberland County, England, and in Roxburg County, 
Scotland. Writing of this region in 1796, John Naismyth says* 
the whole Cheviot region is naked and open, and is now an un- 
broken continuation of sheep pastures, except such cultivation as 
is made for the accommodation of the flock. He tells of "beautiful, 
smooth, low, verdant hills," "clusters of fine, smooth knolls, 
covered with sweetest verdure," and of "a great range of good 
pasture of a mixed nature-" Yet, he also writes of less fertile 
parts, "which having lain long neglected, the surface water has 
preyed on the soil, destroyed the sweet verdure, and brought a 
growth of mosses in its place," and further, that "upon the south- 
west of Cheviot, the plain top of the ridge is covered with a coat of 
peat earth, in some places very coarse and miry," producing 
various kinds of moorish herbage. 

It is in this region that we find the native home of the 
Cheviot sheep. 

When we consider we have but very little knowledge of breeds 
of live .stock prior to the time of the Revolutionary war, and that 
in fact but few breeds were chronicled in histories 100 years ago, we 
can realize that ancient literature will give us but little light con- 
cerning the origin of this breed. George Cully in 1789 published 
the first distinctive work on live stock husbandry, in which he 
.says.t "the original distinct breeds that I have seen, may I appre- 



* Annals of Agr., Vol. 27, 17%, p. 177. 
+Observation on Live Stock, Dublin, 1789, p. 168. 






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i,-^ 2 yJ The Cheviot Sheep. 

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V ^ 

."^ hend, be reduced to seven." And in Cully I find my earliest 

reference to the Cheviot^'^ I z'^ 

The tale is told by some that the Cheviot is descended from 
sheep that escaped from the vessels of the Spanish Armada, when 
they were wrecked upon the rocky shores of Britain over two 
centuries ago. This tale, however, has also been given in explana- 
tion of the origin of yet other breeds, .so that coming from the sea, 
we may accept it as somewhat fishy in flavor and quality. 

From all we can learn, this breed of sheep has been grown in 
the Cheviot Hills from very early times. 

Nai.smyth, writing of the Cheviot hills in 1796, says* the 
.sheep fed here were formerly called the long hill sheep of the east 
border, but are now better known by the name of Cheviot sheep • 

Culley, .seven years before Naismyth, de.scribes the "long 
sheep," as he terms them, as having long, thin carcas.ses, thick 
planted, fine tender wool, and with white faces and without horns. 
Some few of these, he says, are .speckled in the face and legs. 
They are "a kind of sheep, in my own humble opinion, very ill 
calculated for a mountainous country." 

In 1784, Arthur Young, who perhaps is the most famous 
agricultural writer and author Hngland has ever produced began 
the publication of his well known Annals of Agriculture. In the 
earliest volumes of this work, I find no reference to the Cheviot. 

On November 10, 1791, David Irving addres.sed a letter to Sir 
John Sinclair, Chairman of the Society for the Improvement of 
Briti.sli Wool, in the Annals of Agriculture, on the subject of 
"experiments with the Cheviot breed of .sheep." In this he says, 
"having tried many experiments with the Che\iot, or as we call 
them in this country, Long sheep, and being convinced of their 
superiority over the lyinton or Short breed for farms in the hilly 
part of Scotland, I take the liberty of .sending to you and to the 
Society, an account of tho.se experiments, in hopes that it will tend 
to remove the prejudices of such store masters as have not had an 
opportunity of trying the excellence of that breed which you have 
so properly recommended. ' " He then goes on and details some of this 
work. In 1777 he bought forty Cheviot rams of the best sort on 
the farms of the Duke of Buccleugh and Sir James Johnstone, and 



*Annals of Agriculture, p. Is2. 



/-, OF UONG>^;^ 



-^^Ofitk^ 



The Cheviot Sheep. j 

crossed tliem with 1612 ewes of the Short or Black Faced breed. 
He states that these sheep were reckoned dear, and when his 
neighbors and kindred "saw me trying this new breed, they were 
very hard upon me, 'for pretending to go out of the good old way; 
for changing the good hardy for the soft long sheep,' and so forth." 
So he was frightened and gave up the experiment for eight years. 
But in 1785 he began the work in earnest, buying 134 Cheviot 
ewe lambs. In 1786 he crossed 420 black faced ewes with Cheviot 
rams. This work gave satisfactory results, and he secured one 
shilling higher for Cheviot blood than black face from the same 
pasture, while the wool which could have brought only 22^ 15s. 
from the old stock, sold this 3^ear at 48^' 19s. In 1787 he took the 
farm of Polmoodie, one of the highest lying farms in Scotland. 
He bought 1410 black faced sheep, 1079 of which he crossed with 
Cheviot rams. After giving the figures of his clips for 1788, '89, 
'90, he says: "Thus, I have brought the value of wool produced 
on this farm f ri m 51/^ los. to 115^ 7s. He notes that while his 
wool brought from 9 to los. per stone, farmers in the Cheviot 
region received 18 to 20s. per stone, and even a guinea, on account 
of having perfected their experiments. He also says, "The carcass 
I have brought to such perfection, that, as markets go, it will not 
be easy to add above a few pence to its value, at the same time 
with equal weight, the butcher can always afford to give from 9d 
to 1 s. more for the Cheviot breed, on account of the better quality 
of the skin." He tells that farmers in the Highlands are prejudiced 
against the breed, and believes removing this prejudice will make 
the breed more valuable. 

The same year David Irving reported on his experiments, the 
Society for the Improvement of British Wool submitted a plan* to 
the public for accomplishing the purposes of the Society. 

In this the prevailing breeds of sheep are discussed. Here the 
statement is made that of all the breeds for the hilly parts of 
England or Scotland, the Cheviot, or South Border breed, is by far 
the most valuable. A special investigation was made of the breed 
in its native home by two of the Directors, Sir John Sinclair and 
Mr. Belches. They state that perhaps no part of the whole island 
where at first sight a fine wooled breed of sheep is less to be 

♦Annals of Agriculture, 1791, Vol. XVI, p. 428. 



^ The Cheviot Sheep. 

expected. Many parts of the sheep walks in those hills consist of 
nothing but peat bogs and deep morasses. During the winter their 
hills are covered with snow for two or three and sometimes even 
four months. 

These sheep are long bodied. They have in general 14 ribs on 
a side. Their shape is excellent, and their fore-quarter in particular 
is of a full and proper weight. Their limbs are of a length to fit 
them for tra\-eiing and to enable them to pass over bogs and snows, 
through which a short-legged animal could not well penetrate. 
They are white faced, and have rarely any black .spots on any part 
of their body. They have a closer and shorter fleece than the 
black faced, which keeps them warmer in cold weather, and pre- 
vents either rain or snow from incommoding them. They are 
excellent snow breakers, and from their habit of scraping the snow 
of the ground with their feet, have obtained the name of "snow 
breakers." They are, it is said, less subject to diseases than the 
common black faced breed. They sell at a good price for feeding. 
The weight of draught or cast ewes, which fetch 16-20 s. each, and 
wethers 14-16 s., and when fed at four years old is from 17-20 
pounds per quarter. lyambs for feeding sell for about 7 s. apiece. 
From eight to nine fleeces make a stone of 24 pounds weight. The 
Directors cannot hesitate to reconnnend a trial of this breed to all 
the sheep farmers in the hilly parts of England and Scotland. For 
that purpo.se they have already purchased 50 rams and 100 ewes, 
which the_v propo.se to deliver at 36 s. the ram and 20 s. the ewe, in 
every district where application is made for that purpose by any 
active and intelligent improver. They state that there are now 
30,000 to 50,000 of this sort brought to very great perfection. Of 
the.se Mr. Scott's at Lethem, Mr. Laing's at Plenderleith and Mr. 
Marshall's at Blindburn and Mr. Redhead's at Chatto, all in the 
neighborhood of Jedburgh, are among the hardiest and best. They 
state that the progress made in improving this breed during the 
past 20 years, especially relating to wool, is in the highest degree 
sati.sfactory. About 20 years ago the stone of wool required 10 
fleeces and the wool sold at only 8s per stone. Eight fleeces now 
weigh a stone and the price is more than double. This committee 
believe that this breed may be improved by the u.se of foreign 
blood, and recommend crossing with Spanish sheep. They say 



The Cheviot Sheep. 5 

the wool of this breed wants, ist, to be finer in the pile; 2ncl, 
shorter in staple, so as to make it fitter for clothing; thicker in the 
coat, so as to keep the animal warmer, and lastly more equal in 
point of quality, so that the whole fleece may be as nearly as 
possible the same. These are qualities the Spanish breed possesses 
superior t,o any other, and if the hardiness, the excellent carcass 
and the other ad vant iges of the Cheviot breed are united to these 
properties or the Spanish, "/?z7/ sheep are brought to their greatest 
height of perfection." The cross between the two breeds has 
already been tried, and in so far as it is possible to judge from the 
appearance of the lambs this season, the experiment has answered 
completely. 

In 1793, writing on Midlothian Agriculture in the Annals, 
George Robertson says, in speaking of the sheep there; "In the 
lower parts of the country, a better kind, on some farms has, how- 
ever, been introduced, principally of the Cheviot breed, in some 
cases crossed with the Hereford, in others with the Bakewell species" 
(Leicester). 

John Naismyth's sketch of the "The Chevnot Hills" in the 
Annals* in 1796 contains the most comprehensive and perhaps 
authoritative re'erence to Cheviot sheep that was written of the 
breed in its native home. Referring to this breed he says they are 
well polled and smooth faced, their fleeces unmixed white, and legs 
and faces either white, or somewhat mixed with black or brown, 
and this mixture on the face is always of a darker shade towards 
the nose. Those with the black mixture on the face are .said, by 
.some, to bear the finest wool. Their heads and ears are finely 
shaped; their countenances mild and pleasant. The whole figure is 
generally regular and well proportioned, but there are individuals in 
some flocks with rather thin shoulders, with legs too long for the 
size. The body, but more especially the tail, is longer than that of 
the Black Faced sheep, and hence probably has arisen the distinction 
of short and long sheep. The fleece is generally clo.se, even and 
full topped; and the wool soft and fine, of from two to three and 
one-half inches in length. The same kind of polled sheep have fed 
in this district for time immemorial; nor does anybody allege that 
the}' were even natives of an}^ other region. 

*Anuals of Agriculture, Vol. XXVII, 17%. 



6 The Cheviot Sheep. 

Formerly they are said to have been lank and gibletty; the 
back lax, the legs and neck long and slender and the shoulders 
thin. The fleece, though fine, was open topped and the breech hairy, 
and the lambs weak and thinly covered. About thirty years since, 
says Mr. Naisymth, which would be about 1754, Mr. Robson, a 
farmer of great professional knowledge and attention, is said to 
have been- the first to attempt to remedy these defects. He brought 
rams from the wolds of Lincolnshire, to copulate with his ewes, by 
which the carcass and figure was much reformed, and l)y repeated 
crossings, obtained a highly improved stock. Naismyth says that 
the general practice has been to .select a ram from any neighboring- 
flock of the mo.st approved shape, and soft, clo.se and equal fleece, 
which is put to copulate with a few select ewes of the flock. From 
the produce of this connection, the most perfect lambs are picked to 
be u.sed as breeding rams, when they are a year and a half old. 
This is repeated from time to time, and it is a rule not to use the 
same rams more than two 3'ears. 

Sir John Sinclair, an eminent early agricultural author and 
man of prominence, who has already been referred to, took an 
active interest in this breed and stocked his own farm at Caithness, 
Scotland, with it. Writing in the Annals in 1793, he says: 

Of the different breeds that are kept on the movmtainous dis- 
tricts of this i.sland, the Cheviot .seem to be the best calculated of 
any perhaps hitherto known for such a pasture (mountainous) ; 
uniting hardiness, quality of wool and excellence of shape and 
mutton, and po.sse.ssing that length of limb and body, which enables 
them to travel without difficulty, either in quest of food, or to a 
distant market. He states that the great object in regard to the 
Cheviot breed is to diminish the quantity of coarse and to increase 
the quantity of fine wool in the fleece as much as possible. 

At this time, Young recommended what to-day would be con- 
sidered a unique way to make the merits of a breed known. This was 
to appoint public agents at places where the breed is found in greatest 
perfection, for the purpo.se of encouraging the farmers in the neigh- 
borhood to attend more to the improvement of their flocks, and of 
corresponding with all those who might be desirous of purchasing 
at as little expense as possible. It was only by the means of such 
a plan that the knowledge of the Cheviot breed became so rapidly 



The Cheviot Sheep. y 

extended all over Scotland. A flock of 50 rams and 100 ewes were 
sent by the British Wool Society from the borders of England and 
Scotland to Caithness, about 350 miles, without the loss of a single 
sheep. They were sold to from 40 to 50 different people. The 
flock kept one route and every person got the ones intended for 
him. The cost of this, for expense, of driving 350 miles, tolls, 
ferriage, niaintainance, shepherd, etc., was only about is. i^ 
pence (27cts.) each. 

The influence of the British Wool Society materially assisted 
in popularizing the Cheviot, and the breed gradually became distri- 
buted over Scotland and the highlands of England. Even before 
1793, the Cheviot was introduced into the county of Sutherland in 
northern Scotland, and Mr. Kerr Richardson in the Annals for 
1793, states that "the experiments which have been tried in that 
county, with the Cheviot breed, have thriven beyond the most 
sanguine expectations of those wdio have made the trial." 

Prof. Wilson, an eminent Scotch agricultural authority of the 
early part of this century, states* that Cheviot mutton is excellent, 
and the carcass weighs from 12 to 18 pounds per quarter. The 
weight of the fleece is about three pounds. He calls it a hardy 
mountain breed, thriving well on waste and sterile lands. The 
Cheviots, he says, are characteristic of the hilly districts of the 
northwest parts of Northumberland, and are also bred on the hills 
around Cheviot, from which they derive their name. Their wool 
is in great demand and brings a high price. It is important to note 
here that he states some 50 years after it has become well known as 
a breed, that it has been much improved of late years, though there 
is still a want of depth in the fore-quarters, and of breadth, both 
there and at the chine 

David Low, Professor of Agriculture in the University of 
Edinburgh, in 1841-42 published a monumental work on "The 
Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands," illustrated 
by many large colored plates of great artistic merit of the different 
breeds. Plate eight in volume two is of a Cheviot ewe, bred by Mr. 
Thompson of Attonburn, County of Roxburgh. This represents an 
animal pure white in color, wdth smooth head, fairly large ears, 
prominent eye and nose and with black nostril. The body has a 



♦Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, Vol. II, No. 9, ls2i)-31. 



8 The Cheviot Sheep. 

trifle more of length than we would desire to-day, and there is 
hardly the spirited carriage that is characteristic of the Cheviot as 
I have seen it both in England and America. 

In writing of this breed in the work referred to, Low sa3's that 
the body is very closely covered with wool, which is short and 
sufficiently fine for the making of certain clotlis. Two .shear 
wethers, when fat, may weigh on a medium from i6 to 18 pounds 
the quarter. The ewes are usually reckoned to weigh from 1 2 to 
14 pounds the quarter. The mutton is very good, though inferior 
in delicacy to that of the South down and Welch sheep, and in 
flavor to that of the Black Faced Heath breed. The natural form 
of the sheep is, like that of all mountain breeds, with a light fore- 
quarter, but this character is removed by the effects of breeding, 
and the modern Cheviots are of good form. They are larger in the 
lower countries, where a supply of turnips can be given; they are 
lighter in the more elevated tracts, where artificial food is scanty or 
wanting. The breeders adopt the kind of animal which is suited to 
the pa.stures, preferring a shorter legged, larger sheep for the lower 
farms, and one of lighter and more agile form for the more upland 
and colder. The Cheviot sheep are of quiet habits, po.ssessing, 
indeed, the independence of a mountain race, but having none of 
the indocility which distinguishes some other races. T hey are 
exceedingly hardy, their close covering of fine wool enabling them 
to resist the extremes of cold 

Low states that the Cheviots have .spread over a large extent 
of country. In the southern Highlands in the forties, they had large- 
ly supplanted the Heath breed, and covered the elevated moors, 
formerh- occupied by the Black Face Highland .sheep. They had been 
carried to the extreme north of Scotland and to the west of England 
and Wales. He states that the extension that has already taken 
place of this hardy breed must be regarded as having been of 
singular benefit to breeders and the country. In its native countr\- 
of the Cheviot hills, it has been cultivated with great care by a 
cla.ss of breeders inferior to none in the kingdom for intelligence 
and enterprise. Low notes that the wool of this breed weighs 
about 3^ pounds the fleece. It formerly used to be employed for 
the making of cloths, but from the extensive employment of the 
merino wool of Saxony and Spain, it is now scarcely employed for 



The Cheviot Sheep. p 

this purpose, and is prepared by the process of combing in place of 
carding for the coarser manufactures. The attention of breeders, 
too, having been mainly directed to the fattening properties of the 
animal, the wool has dinlinished in fineness, although it has 
increased in length and weight. 

Undoubted the Cheviot went through a gradual change, as is 
shown through various writings between 1790 and 1840. Low 
brings this out in his reference to breeders increasing the fattening 
qualities, while the wool coarsened. Certainly 50 years before, a 
fine fleece was the first desire of the breeders, as is illustrated by 
using Spanish blood in flocks, as recommended by the British Wool 
Society. This change is further brought out by T. Rowlandson* 
in a prize essay "On the Breeds of Sheep Best Adapted to Different 
Localities," when he writes: How the Cheviot came to be classed 
amongst short wooled sheep by Sir John Sinclair and others, is to 
me inexplicable, except from the circumstance that people were 
content to use a coarser cloth formerly than at the present day. 
That the staple of the wool has been lengthened, and the wool 
otherwise become coarser, I am prepared to admit, but certainly not 
to the extent that the fleece has been changed from a short felting 
wool to a combing quality. Sinclair, we remember, wrote of the 
Cheviot as long and leggy, but over a half century later Rowland- 
son describes it as "a handsome, compact sheep, not quite so 
'leggy' as the Cotswold and Yorkshire sheep, notwithstanding 
which they are an active race, are famous foragers, and withstand 
the vicissitudes of the weather exceedingly well, more so than 
any of the breeds previously noticed. The vigor of this breed 
seems attested by all. John WiLson, Professor of Agriculture in 
Edinburgh University, hi 1855, saysf they are exceedingly hardy, 
and, although po.ssessing all the vigor and con.stitution of a 
mountain breed, exhibit none of their restless habits and submit 
with great docility to the restraint of the lowland farms. Wilson 
states that the natural pasture of the Cheviot range has aided in the 
development of a larger framed animal than the other mountain 
districts, that the fleece averages about five pounds, and the wool 
is of medium length and quality, and that the Cheviots have been 

*Jour. Roy. Agr. Soc. of Eugland, IHlSt, Vol. X, p, 421. 
tjour. Roy. Agr. Soc. of England , 18.")5, p. 331. 



lo The Cheviot Sheep. 

crossed successfully with the lycicester and Southdown, and in both 
cases the produce has been satisfactory, showing an improvement in 
the carcass, the weight and quantity of wool and an aptitude to 
fatten at an earlier age than the pure breed. 

Henry H. Dixon, in 1866, in a prize essay on the "Mountain 
Breeds of Sheep,"* says it is to the Robsons of Belford, who were 
flourishing when the century began, that the earliest improvement 
of Cheviots is generally allowed to be due. Their rams were all 
bred on the Cheviot ranges, and 70 or 80 of them would sell and 
let for about 700/," ($3,500), when they were marshalled each year 
in the great barn. It was said that there was a cross from Dishley 
in the flock. He tells of Mr. Reed who left the south side of the 
Cheviots to go to Sutherland, where he had as many as 18,000 Che-' 
viots upon a farm 18 miles by eight, and that he turned over 2,000 
three year old wethers and 1,500 cast ewes one September to a great 
Hawick salesman. 

The southern Cheviots, according to Dixon, are brought up 
more artificially than those of the north, and .so it is a question 
whether they are as hardy and active as the northern bred. Still 
most of the prize takers are of the .south. Dixon notes that the 
most improved type of Cheviots, like Mr. Brydon's (for whose rams 
between ico and ioo guineas were given at one of his biennial 
Beattock sales), have good Roman no.sed heads, flat crowns 
covered with hard white hair, and "that cock of the lug and glint 
of the eye," which tell < f mettle tha'- will make them hunt the hill 
for food, and not hang listlessly round the hay hecks after a 
storm. They have aLso a fine "park ranging neck," rather Leices- 
ter-like girth and a width between the forelegs, light and clefty bone 
and plenty of wool under the belly, as well as on the arms and 
thighs. A good forearm or "butchers grip " is as great a point as 
white legs and a black no.se ; and the horned rams are thought more 
hard3^ though they are often coarser in the coat. 

It is a rare thing to cross breed Cheviots and Black Faces, says 
Dixon, but when this is done the Cheviot ram should be used, for 
if the cross is taken otherwise, the lambs are inferior both in .shape 
and bone. The third cross of the Cheviot generally obliterates 

*Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc, 186B, p. 3ti0. 



The Cheviot Sheep. iz 

every trace of Black Face, except perhaps, in the grey shade of the 
legs and the kemp. 

The Cheviot underwent great popularity, until the winter of 
1859-60, which was of terrible severity in England and Scotland. At 
this time the Black Face demonstrated a greater hardihood than the 
Cheviot so that on the more exposed Highlands, the Cheviot is 
nearly altogether displaced. This I found to be the case in my visit 
in Scotland in 1897. I^^ the upper Highlands, about the only breed 
to be seen, was the Black Face, and I saw them eating the heather 
in isolated numbers nearly on the summit of Ben L,omond, over 
3,000 feet high. Referring to this hardiness of the Cheviot, Mr. 
Murray writes:* In the rainy climate of the far north the short and 
fine staple of the Cheviot wool is not so well suited to defend the 
skin of the animal from wet, as the long shaggy fleece of the Black 
Face, besides the Cheviots are more liable to be attacked b}- rot than 
the Black Faces, even when both are grazing on the same grazing, 
in consequence of their preferring the low boggy parts for the sake 
of .shelter, while the ^Black Faces invariably prefer the dry, bare 
hights for their beds; yet even here the use of a Cheviot ram with 
Black Faced ewes has been successful, giving an extra value of five 
shillings to the lamb. In all the border counties, on the medium 
high ranges, where the climate is not too bleak and severe and some 
portions of turnips can be got in winter, the Leicester- Cheviot cross 
has answered admirably. 

The inability to cope with the Black Face, in passing success- 
fully through the severest winter weather, turned the scale in favor of 
the Black Face in regions where heretofore the Cheviot had more than 
held his own. Wrightson, in his work on Sheep, f says that on the 
lower and grassy slopes of the mountains, the Cheviot sheep main- 
tains his position; but on the higher and less accessible tracts, 
where heather takes the place of grass, the Black Faced breed is best. 

The type of Cheviots is rather different to-day from what it was 
100 years ago, as has already been shown, and as we might expect. 
The form, style and character of wool have changed, and certainly 
improved. Professor Robert Wallace in 1893, among other things, 
gives these as features of the modern Cheviot of England and 

*Jour. Roy. Ag Soc, 1K67, p. 570. 
tSheep: Breeds and Management. 1895. 



12 The Cheviot Sheep. 

Scotland.* The face and legs should be well covered with short, 
hard, wiry, pure white hair, which should extend over the ears and 
well back over the head. The horns in the rams, though not 
always present, are not objected to, being considered a sign of 
hardiness, if "clean," not thick and ringed or rough like those of 
the Black Faced breed. The nose of the ram is somewhat arched or 
Roman. The nostrils are black, and the eyes dark and very full 
and bright. The wool is moderately long, and should be close set, 
and neither open nor curly, but straight and free from "kemp" or 
dead hairs, covering all parts of the body well, including the belly, 
breast and legs down to Ihe knees and hocks. A good average clip 
for ewes is 4^ — 5 pounds of washed wool. The tail is long, and 
should be very rough. It is cut so the point reaches the hocks. 
The shoulders are high and sharp at the withers. The fashionable 
form of Cheviot is now shorter, smaller, and more compact and the 
wool closer and thicker set than formerly, since a series of bad seasons, 
down to 1879, showed that the larger varieties with loose open 
fleeces, were not so hardy. The old, original Cheviot was a very 
close coated, short wooled and remarkably hardy sheep— even more 
hardy, it is recorded, than the Scotch Black Faced breed, a state of 
things which is now far from being the case. The ewes are good 
milkers. Cast ewes, fed on turnips for from 12 to 14 weeks, and 
wethers from the hills, at three years old, weigh, killed and 
dressed, 60.70 pounds; wethers a year younger, and finished on 
turnips, get up to about the same weight. 

In early times, when Cheviots were quite fashionable, good 
prices prevailed for them. On September 13, 1865, 169 Cheviot 
rams sold at public auction at Beattock, by Mr. Oliver of Hawick, 
realized 2484/,' los. ($12,422.50), which is the best proof we can 
give of the high estimation in which the breed was held by the 
flock masters of the border counties. One live year old ram sold 
for $190.00, one four year old for $570.00, one three year old for 
$775.00 and one two year old for $605.00. 

A most interesting illustrated article, "A Day in the Cheviots," 
in the L,ive Stock Report in September and October, 1898, by Mr. 
A. S. Grant, Associate Editor of the North Briti.sh Agriculturist, 
gives one an idea of the Cheviot of to-day in its native home, and 

*Farm Livestock of Great Britain, '18(13, p. 247. 



Tlic Cheviot Sheep. ij 

of the Cheviot country and shepherds. Sheep, he says, are every- 
where in the great pastoral districts of the south-east coast. Up the 
steep hillsides they are as thick as they are on even the rich haugh 
lands by the railway side. Mr Grant's day was spent at Plender- 
leith, which lies at the very head of Oxnani Water, in the center of 
a famous group oi Cheviot farms. On one side is the widely 
known farm of Under Hindhope, so long tenanted by the late Mr. 
Thomas Elliot, the famous breeder and improver of Cheviot sheep, 
and still occupied by his son, Mr. John Elliot, whose skill and 
ability in the breeding and bringing out of Cheviots is certainly not 
inferior to that displayed by his renowned father. Few breeders in 
fact, have been so successful in the show yard as Mr. John Elliot, 
and at the present moment his flock takes rank as one of the best 
flocks of the breed in existance. Nearly all the flocks in the 
country are more or less indebted to Hindhope blood, one of the 
most successful rams ever used at Plenderleith, Awfu' Sandy, 
having been bred there. 

Mr. Grant says the Che^'iot is par exeellcncc the sheep of the 
Border districts. The original Cheviot, was, however, a very 
different animal from the thick, compact, active, finely wooled 
specimen of the present day. He was then comparatively small and 
scraggy in his frame, light in his bone, and with brownish colored 
head and legs. Now the head and legs are completely white, the 
frame thick and wide, and the gigots well filled. The well bred 
Cheviot of to-day is in fact perhaps one of the finest examples of 
combined energy and grace to be found in the whole ovine econom3^ 
He carries his head much higher than the border Leicester, which 
is also a very graceful sheep, and has at least twice as much fire in 
his eye. Few sheep can beat him in scaling a hillside, and none 
certainly can a.ssume a more defiant or striking attitude. The 
Cheviot has also been very much improved in his mutton, his light 
square carcass cutting up to almost no waste, while his flesh 
almost rivals the mutton of the Black Face in flavor. 

Speaking of the management of a Cheviot farm, Mr. Grant 
says that it is on the whole exceedingly simple. Generally speaking 
the sheep go at large over the farm during the whole season, indi- 
vidual animals rarely taking a wide range. The area required for 
each head of sheep varies from two to four acres. In some cases 



/^ The Cheviot Sheep. 

where extra feeding is to be given, the rams are kept separate from 
the ewes, but generally they are allowed shortly after weaning to 
graze together again. Ewes have their first lambs in April at two 
years old and are sold as casts at five and six years old, being re- 
placed by the best of the ewe lambs. Cheviot casts are invariably 
sold for producing a crop of lambs by Leicester rams. As a rule, 
the cast ewes, the wedder lambs, the small ewe lambs and the wool 
constitute the whole produce of the farm. This applies to the Che- 
viot farms in the south of Scotland and the north of England. 

A history of this breed of sheep is really its English and 
Scotch history. The breed has only been known in America in a 
very limited way, and but few sheep breeders outside of New York 
have ever seen specimens of Cheviots in America or would know 
them on sight. 

So far as I have been able to learn, Cheviots were first brought 
to the United States in 183S, and by Robert Youngs of Delhi, Dela- 
ware county. New York, though they were imported into Canada at 
an earlier date by Mr. Pope of Cookshire, Quebec. In 1842, 
George Lough of Hartwick and a Mr. Davison also imported 
some to the same county. -i- These became widely extended over 
the southern central counties of New York, and especially Otsego, 
and are mainly the foundations of stock in the American Cheviot 
flock book. From that time on, this has been the most prominent 
Cheviot breeding ground in America. Later importations were 
made to this region by George Lough and Mr. Youngs. E. J. 
Bruce of Ketchum, N. Y. and William Curry of Hartwick, 
imported "Willie the Wist," No. 1 imp. and three ewes in 
1887, and William Ralph of Markham, Ontario, imported at the 
same time. In 1890 William Ainslie and Thomas Ainslie 
and Son, of Hartwick, N. Y., imported from John Elliot of 
Hindhope, Scotland, "Hindhope" No. 5 imp. and "Prince Davie," 
No. 6 imp. Later on George Lough Jr. & Son of Hartwick, im- 
ported "Lady Robson" No. 16, imp. from John Robson of Newton, 
England. The only State fair in America, where Cheviots are a 
prominent show, is that of New^ York. In 1885, I think it w^as, in 
the company of Col. F. D. Curtis, then a prominent agricultural 
worker and stockman of New York, now decea.sed, I visited the 
sheep pens, and there I made my first acquaintance with the beauti- 

*Sbeep Industry in the United States, 1892, pp. 371, 3W; and 414. 



The Cheviot Sheep. 15 

fill, stylish Cheviot. We spent a liberal share of our time in the 
Cheviot pens, and Col. Curtis was verj- emphatic in his approval 
and praise of this breed. These earlier New York breeders claimed 
that the Cheviots were quiet in disposition and easily fenced and 
controlled* The rams sheared 8-12 pounds of wool, and the e.\es 
four to eight pounds, well washed. The rams .sold for $20 to $40 
each. These flocks have been maintained with much purity for 
many years John Curry and William Ainslie .settled in Hartwick, 
Otsego Co. and became Cheviot breeders along in the earl_y fifties, 
and their descendants are now prominent breeders of Cheviots. 
Many small but excellent flocks exist in or about Otsego county 
to-day. 

Cheviots were introduced into Washington Coutity, Pennsyl- 
vania, by Thomas M. Patterson, of Patterson Mills, who in 1889 
purchased a few heads in Ot.sego County, N. Y., since which time 
three small flocks have been brought into the county.;]; The condi- 
tions there seem favorable to their development. In 1891 Mr. 
Patterson's flock of 50 head averaged eight pounds of wool each, 
the wool being eight inches long. One ewe, three years old, 
weighing 196 pounds, clipped 10I/2 pounds of wool. Twenty 
ewes dropped 32 lambs. 

In 1S45, T. J. Carmichael imported three rams and six ewes to 
Wiscon.sin for his farm at Lake Mills, Jefferson county. These 
sheep were large and very fine, the fleeces quite as heavy and the 
wool nearly as long as the Leicester. The rams were bought of the 
flock of James Oliver, Both wick Bray, and the ewes from Charles 
Scott of Roxburgh.shire, Scotland. This breed evidently did not 
become well-known in the State. 

Cheviots were first taken into Illinois in 1888, when E. 
Pumphrey brought 10 ewes and one ram from the flock of E. J- 
Bruce, of Ketchum. N. Y. The next year they lambed 150 per 
cent. 

Some time prior to 1838, a Mr. Pope, of Cookshire, Province of 
Quebec, imported Cheviots to Canada, and he later on made other 
importations. Since then a few flocks have been established in 
Canada. 



*Sheep Industry in the United States, 1893. 
Ibid . p. 520. 



i6 The Cheviot Sheep. 

Cheviots were first brought to Indiana in 1891 by Howard H. 
Keim, of I^adoga, Montgomery county, who purchased 68 head of 
rams, ewes and lambs from the best flocks about Otsego county, 
N. Y. This is now the best known Cheviot flock in the west. 
Numerous other flocks have since become established in Indiana, so 
that now this State ranks only second to New York in the import- 
ance of its Cheviot flocks. 

At the present time, there are also small flocks of Cheviots in 
Vermont, Michigan, Massachusetts, Iowa, Tennessee, Ohio and 
perhaps elsewhere. 

There are two Cheviot Sheep Associations in America. On 
Jan. 28-29, 1891, the American Cheviot Sheep Breeders' Association 
was organized at Hartwick, Otsego Co., N. Y., the founders of the 
a.ssociation being Er\nn J. Bruce, Henry Van Dreser, William Curry 
and Howard H. Keim. This association has issued one Flock Book 
of about 160 pages. On March 23, 1S94, the National Cheviot 
Sheep Society was organized at Indianapolis, Ind., with William 
Curry one of the Vice Presidents, and Howard H. Keim, Secretary 
This .society has publi-shed one flock book of 51 pages. 

The Cheviot exists as one of the very best mutton and wool 
breeds of sheep known to-day, and no breed is better suited to the 
.sheep uplands of America than the Cheviot. In a visit abroad in 
1897, I talked with many sheep men, of different breeds, and every- 
where the Cheviot was spoken of with the greatest respect and 
admiration. One of the best known vShrop.shire breeders of 
England .spoke highly of the quality of Cheviot mutton, of its 
fleece, and of the general beauty of the breed. 

There is no more beautiful breed of .sheep than the Cheviot, 
and combining this with its other good qualities, in the hands of 
judicious, progressive breeders it should in future become one of 
the well known and established popular breeds of America. 



The above is a lecture delivered before the National Cheviot Sheep 
Soeiety by Prof. C. S. Plumb, of Purdue University, at its Annual 
meeting at Indianapolis, Ind., fanua?y 4, rSgg, and is published by 
order of the Society. H. H. Keim, Secy. 



The Cheviot Sheep. jy 

Brief Description of the Cheviot Sheep 

BY THE SECRETARY. 

A Cheviot ram, when arrived at maturity, weighs in good 
flesh at least two hundred pounds live weight. He has a lively- 
carriage, bright eyes and pleuty of action. His head is of medium 
length, broad between the eyes, well covered with short, fine white 
hair. His ears, nicely rounded and not too long, shovild rise erect 
from the head — low set or drooping ones are decided faults, but at 
the same time they should not be what are called "hare-lugged," 
that is too near each other, as that indicates a narrow face, which 
generally denotes a narrow body. His nose and nostrils must be 
black, full and wide open; his neck strong and not too long; his 
breast broad and open, with the legs set well apart. His ribs must 
be well sprung and carried well back toward the hook bones, as a 
long weak back is about the worst fault a Cheviot can have. His 
back must be broad and well covered with mutton; his hind quar- 
ters full, straight and square; the tail well hung and nicely fringed 
with wool. His legs must stand squarely from the body (if bent 
hocks, either out or in, and especially the latter, are looked upon as 
weakness); the bone must be broad and flat, and all must be 
covered with short, hard, white hair. 

He will grow a fleece weighing 12 to 15 pounds of fairly fine 
wool, densely grown and of equal quality; coarseness on the tops of 
the hocks is a decided blemish. The wool should meet the hair at 
the ears and cheeks in a decided ruffle; bareness there or at the 
throat is inadmissible, and it should grow nicely down to the hocks 
and knees. The breast and belly are also well covered. 

The same description, when modified, will apply to the ewe 
also, which will weigh one hundred and fifty pounds. Cheviots, 
when in a natural state, must grow finer wool, as hard feeding in- 
clines to make it stronger, but it must be stiff" and dense and not too 
short. 

The perfect Cheviot is one which will live and thrive well on 
the hardest keep, and when taken to better ground prove itself 
equal to the occasion by growing larger and becoming easily 
fattened. The ewes are also great milkers, and very prolific. 



i8 The Cheviot Sheep. 

RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

1. The name of this Society shall be "The National Cheviot 
Sheep Society," the objects of which are: 

(a) The encouragement of the breeding of Cheviot Sheep and 
the maintenance of their purity. 

(b)The establishment of a Flock Book of pure bred sheep, used 
in the past, and the annual registration of such lambs as are proven 
to the satisfaction of the Executive Committee to be eligible. 

(c) The investigation of doubtful or suspected pedigrees. 

(d) Any other business which, in the opinion of the Execu- 
tive Committe, will be conducive to the best interests of the breed. 

2. The officers shall consist of a President, First Vice Presi- 
dent, V. P. for each State represented in the membership, and 
Secretary and Treasurer, each to be elected annually. 

3. The business of the Society shall be managed by the Exec- 
utive Committee, the members of which shall be chosen annually. 

4. The President and Secretary shall be ex-officio members of 
the Executive Committee. 

5. The membership fee of this Society shall be five dollars 
($5.00), which sum shall entitle the member to the free registration 
of all animals bought or owned that are already registered in the 
Cheviot Sheep Society of Great Britain or The American Cheviot 
Sheep Breeders Association, provided said applications are made 
within six months of date of purchase. The registry fee for lambs 
up to and including twelve months shall be 40c. each, after which 
time 75c. shall be charged. Double fees to non-members. The 
transfer fee shall be loc. The Secretary shall receive for his ser- 
vices 25 per cent, of the registry fees, and necessary stationery and 
postage. At the annual meeting the President shall appoint an 
auditing committee of two to audit the books and accounts of 
the Secretary and Treasurer. 

6. A member, to be entitled to a vote, shall have paid all his 
dues, and must own and breed Cheviot Sheep. 

7. These rules may be changed or amended at any regular 
meeting by a two-thirds vote. Members at a distance may vote by 
proxy under seal. The annual meeting shall beheld in the month 
of January. Each member shall be notified of time and place of 
meeting by the Secretary. 

For information or entry blanks please address the Secretary, 
enclosing stamp . 



The Cheviot Sheep. 

THE NATIONAL CHEVIOT SHEEP SOCIETY. 

Organized March 23, 1894. 



19 



Prof. C. S. Pi,umb, 



P. P. Noel, 



OFFICERS: 

PRESIDENT, 
1ST VICE PRESIDENT, 



IvaFayette, Ind. 



Rockville, Ind. 



VICE PRESIDENTS FOR STATES, 

T. N. Curry, Hartwick, N. Y. 

U. S. Miller, ...... Pulaski, Iowa. 

H. C. Davidson, ..... El bridge, Tenn. 

C. H. Marshall, ..... Vergennes, Vt, 



Howard H. Keim, 
Isaac IvLOyd, 
Iv. A. Webster, 



secretary, 



treasurer. 



ARTIST, 



Ladoga, Ind. 



Russell ville, Ind. 



Whiting, Vt. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, 

The President and Secretary ex-officio, P. P. Noel, Hon. D. W. 

Heagy, R. I^. Ainslie, Isaac lyloyd, Wm. Curry, 

W. S. Crodian, 



The Cheviot Sheep. 
MEMBERS: 





INDIANA. 


I. 


W. S. Crodian, 


2. 


J. W. Brothers, . 


3- 


Wm. Hartman, 


4- 


J. A. Guilliams, 


5- 


P. P. Noel. .... 


6. 


Isaac Lloyd & Son, 


7- 


Jessie D. Ronk, 


8. 


Howard H. Keim, 


9- 


T. R. Lockridge, 


lO. 


Prof. C. S. Plumb, 


II. 


Hon. D. W. Heagy, 


12. 


J. Clayton Mahoney, 


13- 


S. M. Dunbar, 


14. 


Luther Gardner, . . " . 


15- 


Grant Williams, . 




NEW YORK, 


16. 


Wm. Curry & Son, 


17- 


T. N. Curry, 


18. 


R. L. Ainslie, 


19. 


John Bowmaker, 


20. 


John R. Parr, 


21. 


A. H. Elliott, 


22. 


John Lunn, 


23- 


Lee B. Webb, 


24. 


C. H. Ward, 



25. U. S. Miller, 

26. Jeremiah Miller 

27. J- C- Miller . 



28. L. A. Webster, 

29. C. H. Marshall, 



30. H C. Davidson, 



IOWA. 



VERMONT. 



Fincastle. 

Estate, Morton. 

Fincastle. 

Fincastle. 

Rockville. 

Russellville. 

Ladoga. 

Ladoga. 

Mace. 

LaFayette. 

Columbus. 

Ladoga. 

Bowers. 

Fincastle. 

Fiucastle. 



Hart wick. 

Hartwick. 

Hartwick. 
. Hartwick. 

Hartwick. 
Garrattsville. 

Edmeston. 
Sugar Hill. 

Starkville. 



Pulaski. 

Stiles. 
, Stiles. 



Whiting. 
Vergennes. 



TENNESSEE. 



Elbridge. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS' 



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